Days-long funeral procession for Jimmy Carter begins in south Georgia

Motorcade with flag-draped casket heads to boyhood home in Plains before moving to Atlanta, then Washington

Jimmy Carter's long public goodbye began on Saturday in south Georgia, where the 39th US president's life began more than 100 years ago.

A motorcade with Carter's flag-draped casket is heading to his hometown of Plains and past his boyhood home on the way to Atlanta. The procession began at the Phoebe Sumter medical center in Americus, where former Secret Service agents who had protected the late president served as pallbearers. A mournful train whistle filled the clear air as the pallbearers turned to face the hearse for a final goodbye, their hands on their hearts.